Morals Over Freedom (based on the short story "The Story of an Hour")

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"The Story of an Hour" is a short- fictional story, composed of only about 1,000 words, that leaves readers with a sense of wonder and puzzlement at the end. To briefly touch upon the plot, he story opened up with Richards and Josephine having to break the news of Brently Mallard’s death to his wife Louise Mallard ‘as gently as possible’, because she already had heart trouble. Though in broken sentences, Mallard’s sister Josephine eventually conveyed her intended meanings to Louise, and Louise was then left alone, sobbing in her room.

If the previous description of her thoughts served as a general background, something like a common ground to somewhat related Mrs. Mallard to how normal people would feel, the latter parts truly revealed her inner mind. Alone in her room, Mrs. Mallard stared out of the ‘open window’, which led her to catch sight of the ‘open square’ in front of her house and beauty of the outside world. The repetition of the word ‘open’ emphasized her possibility and the fact that Mrs. Mallard had no restrictions anymore. Despite her initial apprehensiveness and opposition towards the feeling that began to arouse in her, Mrs. Mallard did not succeed. She began to repeat the word ‘Free!’ to herself over and over again, and her heart started beating even quicker when she had heard the bad news- terror left her, her body felt very warm, and she could not stop her pulse from beating faster with excitement.

From my perspective, Mrs. Mallard’s behavior started to become very hard to understand from this point on. As mentioned in the first part of the passage, she surely did mourn over her husband’s death, but it was shocking how a person could overcome the feeling of great loss and distress, especially for someone who had lost a life-long companion. It was shocking how the many years of freedom Mrs. Mallard had predicted were so welcoming to her that it led her to spread her arms out joyfully with anticipation. At first, such emotional transition seemed to confuse readers to the extent that it seemed as if she relished the fact that her husband died, but it would rather be that she did love her husband, more or less, yet, it was nothing to her when compared to the independence she was foreseeing.

Fascinated that she would no longer have anyone to oppress her about anything, Mrs. Mallard began planning her future. Reading through her actions, it was not difficult to come up with a question of whether the Mallards had a very serious problem throughout their marriage. Upon comprehending the situation of Mrs. Mallard first hearing the news of her husband’s death, I was able to expect her reactions, because although I had never actually experienced it before, it is a theme that frequently appears in books. The reaction of devastation and sadness in such a case is not to be judged as mundane; it is perfectly normal for a human being to be so, and in my opinion, it is the kind of reaction that is morally acceptable. As opposed to this, Mrs. Mallard’s attitude was confusing, in terms of viewing her as both a woman and wife. In this case, there is no need to differentiate the expected attitudes of a woman and wife because the identity as a woman, like Mrs. Mallard’s, cannot be separated from the fact of being the wife of the dead husband. It could be due to the fact that this essay was written in 1894, more than one hundred years ago, in the times when gender inequality was at its peak. By that time, many industrialized countries had emerged and were developing rapidly, but the degree of independence women had was very low compared to that of men. Although it was not a new issue, it was becoming a highly recognized problem throughout the society because more women were being enlightened due to more experience and education. Suffrage had not even been guaranteed yet. If such historical background had played a large role, and it probably did, maybe it would not have been considered that ironical to the people of the past. For me, after going through a long process of contemplation, the only way I could understand Mrs. Mallard was that she had gone through a marriage of convenience, one that was not based on love. Even after the marriage, her life was probably unsatisfying; she may have tried to come to love her husband, but it is presumable that even before encountering her husband’s death, there were times when she hoped she could be released from her restrained life and gain freedom. Regardless of what kind of complicated fate Mrs. Mallard had, it is undeniable that the issue of gender inequality that had been prevalent during the late 20th century had been a large factor in shaping the character and behavior or Mrs. Mallard. This allows one to conclude that this story is very inapplicable and unfit for modern society.

It is definitely true that women should gain inner strength as not to be a problem for them even if they lived independent lives. These days, women who are too obedient to their husbands are rather unwelcomed, and many social roles and jobs require women that have the ability to empower and develop themselves. However, Mrs. Mallard’s hope for independence was quite different from the situation today, and should be looked at from the standards of humaneness. Whether it is the past or the present, it is definitely almost impossible for a person to stop mourning over his or her spouse’s death and become excited about the future life, especially within an hour. If I had been her, I would have naturally become devastated at the news, and spend some time for myself pondering over the past times I had spent with my husband. After slightly recovering, I would go over to my relatives, and thank all of them for their comfort and care they showed. Maybe some people may view it as too traditional, but I believe that it is right to stay somewhat reclusive for two or three months, tidying the last traces of the deceased and thinking about how to continue on with my life.

In a general sense, it is definitely not expected for a woman to mourn over her husband’s death forever, not being able to do anything and becoming mentally and physically weak. Yet, no matter what the social situation is like, it is more unacceptable to instantly alter the emotions toward your husband’s death from sadness to mere joy. Of course women have the right to be independent, make their own decisions, not be restrained within the hands of men and pursue their goals. It must be kept in mind, though, that this is not everything. If Mrs. Mallard had somewhat tried to accept her previous circumstances, I believe she would have been less excessively stimulated by her emotions and thus, prevent her heart from eventually receiving such great shock as to lead her to face death.

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